Vandals in Goa attack statues at churches

Goa's churches seem to have become the target of miscreants. In a recent case, four statues outside the Guardian Angel Church at Curchorem, 60 km from capital Panaji, were desecrated on the night of May 1.

Incidentally, Curchorem had witnessed the worst-ever communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in 2007.

Goa chief minister Digamber Kamat said an inquiry has been initiated into the desecration.

"This is not an isolated church. It's situated in a locality which is thickly populated," he added.

The chief minister visited the church on Sunday.

He said people staying nearby had seen a jeep loaded with labourers passing by the church on the fateful night.

He added that the incident might have happened between 2 am and 4 am when people were asleep.

Curchorem police officers said miscreants vandalised the statues of St Benedict and Our Lady of Lourdes that were placed outside the church.

These statues were especially brought from Portugal almost 50 years ago by the parishioners.

The statue of Christ the King and Fr Agnelo, a Goan priest who was bestowed sainthood, were also damaged.

This is the second such incident in the recent past. A month ago, a church at Chandor, in south Goa, was vandalised by miscreants.

Goa Police's crime branch had constituted a special cell to probe the desecrations but has so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.

The cell is also investigating incidents of temple desecrations that had rocked the state before the Lok Sabha elections.

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